Euros countdown: 4 weeks to go
A week in which all the footballers went on holiday and kept telling us about it, and we're a few sleeps closer to the tournament of the summer
How much are we all enjoying the female footballers vacations, with each other nonetheless lol, it’s simply adorable ?? I’m obsessed. Lately I’ve found myself back on certain channels that focus more on all the interpersonal relationships within the women’s game and I’m left with so! many! questions!
(has Jenni and Alexia broken up?)
(is Mapi and Ingrid a couple, just really good friends, or in that queer ambiguous in-between stage?)
(Ramona Bachmann just got engaged with her girlfriend!)
(and also Erin Cuthbert showing up in all the instagram stories/posts with the Barcelona players haha)
HOWEVER, WE’VE GOT A BIG FAT FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT SUMMER ahead of us, in the end the players’ personal issues is non of our business of course, so let’s get into the business-business - as their rest is not only well-deserved but WELL NEEDED, as most of them will be heading over to the British Isles in just under a month to crown the best team in Europe!!
WHO ARE SWEDEN’S GROUP STAGE OPPONENTS AT THE EUROS?
So who is it exactly that Sweden will be playing in group C at the Euros? It’s actually a trickier group than first meets the eye. Initially Russia was one of the teams that Sweden would be facing, but they’ve been disqualified and deemed ineligible to compete in the competition following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Portugal taking over their spot.
The Netherlands - current champions of the Euros, which they won back in 2017 on home soil, in turn sparking a growth spurt of girls’ and women’s football in the country. They’ve got the likes of Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Lieke Martens (Barcelona) and Danielle van de Donk (Lyon) ready to terrify any defense, as well as Sari van Veenendaal (PSV) between the posts. Coach Mark Parsons took over last spring after it was announced that Sarina Wiegman was going to take over the English WNT, and the 35 year-old (who is the Netherlands’ youngest ever manager) worked with the Chelsea academy before going to coach Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns, winning multiple pieces of silverware with the Thorns side. The last time these two sides met on the big stage was in the semi-final of the World Cup 2019, where the Oranje Leuwinnen narrowly managed to edge past Sweden on a 1-0 result, and the Swedes are sure to want to correct that result this time around and get off to a good start in the tournament, as it on paper is their most difficult tie in the group.
Switzerland - Qualified to the tournament through the play-off system after beating the Czech Republic on penalties, and features multiple talented players such as Ramona Bachmann (PSG), Lia Wälti (Arsenal) and Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (Barcelona.) However, Bachmann is not going to play alongside her ex Alisha Lehmann (Aston Villa), who is not available for selection due to mental health issues. Manager Nils Nielsen is in charge since 2018, having previously led the Danish WNT to their second-place finish at the Euros 2017, which saw him nominated for the FIFA Best Women’s Coach award. This is going to be an interesting game, there’s a lot of exciting names in the side but it remains to be seen whether they can upset a well-composed Swedish team.
Portugal - the replacement team for Russia (who they lost the original qualification spot to in the play-offs.) Although they didn’t manage to edge past the Russian side in qualis, and have not had that much time to prepare neither mentally nor physically, this team might provide a big challenge and/or upset in the group. Stand-out players include potential captain Ana Borges (Sporting CP) and winger Diana Silva (Sporting CP). Francisco Neto, goalkeeper coach by nature before he took over the side in 2014, let the nation to their first ever European tournament back in 2017, where they didn’t get past the group stages. They’re possibly seen by many as the weaker link in the group but this team might surprise everyone, although Sweden beat them 4-0 in the Algarve cup back in February.
(got a lot of good information off the articles by Jess over at FourFourTwo, there’s ones on every team, go check it out!)
Prediction: Sweden will coast through the group with relative ease! I’m NOT jinxing anything here, this is just a prediction. I think the games will be really exciting, but in the end Sweden will come out on top (because I believe they will win the whole thing! Mark my words!) Simply because they’ve got a solid team, they’ve performed consistently over many years, and they’ve got some real superstar talent in there who have recently moved abroad to develop even further, with the likes of Stina Blackstenius, Fridolina Rolfö and Magdalena Eriksson, as well as the experience of Europe’s all-time most capped player Caroline Seger, who will be appearing in her thirteenth international tournament.
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EQUAL PAY DEBATE - So, I didn’t even really touch on that here (because it was during my wee hiatus) but the US WNT managed to negotiate the terms for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and secure equal pay, a cause they’ve been fighting for in the courts since 2016 (read a full run-down of it here.) This will equalize bonuses as well as salaries between the two national teams, and marks a hard-fought victory after years of consistent battle for the cause, alongside such small matters as going and winning the World Cup in 2019 amongst other things.
It’s creating waves, as Canada WNT latest in line to demand equal pay from their federation, and they want equal DOLLARS, not equal percentages (yes, you tell them!!) Their men’s team, who are also negotiating a new deal with the federation, had tried to be sleek, asking for an “equitable compensation structure”, including same “percentage of prize money earned at our respective FIFA World Cups” Look at them (no shame.) Well, the women’s team called that one out quickly.
lol still found this funny tho
The whole debate, in my mind, is rather bizarre, as we’re talking about WNT’s that are far (faaaaaar) more decorated than their mens’ teams, and honestly the men/federations (you could also put men = federations cause it’s still mostly men in the higher ups isn’t it) should simply be GRATEFUL really that they’re not demanding MORE, because god knows they deserve it. Especially in the case of the USWNT, comparing those two teams is like day and night in terms of silverware, performance, etc.
Lastly … what the hell is going on with the NWSL and all their coaches?